WITH-NESS

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us!”   Isaiah 7:13-14

The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, “Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you.”  Luke 1:26-28

Jean-Francois Millet, "The Angelus."

Piety

V.  The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 

R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord:

R. Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

V. And the Word was made Flesh:

R. And dwelt among us. 

Study

Part of what we stress in the Cursillo is the witness…the testimony of women and men about how the Lord works in their lives.  Overcoming obstacles.  Showering grace. Being a friend.

Witness is only possible because the Lord established in the Hebrew Bible how he would treat us and then he fulfilled that promise in the New Testament.  The promise is for relationship.  We celebrate Christmas because God is WITH us.  We know that from the witness of the shepherds and the magi.  But we know that because God spoke it thus. 

“The virgin shall be WITH child…shall name him Emmanuel which means God is WITH us.”

That message is fulfilled in the first Joyful Mystery…the Annunciation.  “Hail full of grace!  The Lord is WITH you.”

Action

Like Mary, we commit to doing God’s will because God has already done the best part.  God is WITH us.  First as a physical being in Jesus Christ.  Then in the real presence of the Eucharist and the enduring gifts of the Spirit.

How do you witness the Good News?  How do WITH-ness the Good News of God being WITH you in your close moments?  

Take a moment today and pray the Angelus at noon, another time during the day when you are out working in your "field," or when you hear a bell ring.